Online Love
by Chrys-DASL
Summary: Marina has been talking with a good friend online for a while now, and she can't wait to meet up with them. She's got a major crush on him and she wants the normal teen dating experiment. But when the meeting seems to keep going wrong, will her dreams get a chance to come true? One-shot. For my Crushed Hearts series.


**Online Love**

Marina couldn't help but giggle as the newest message arrived. She'd been chatting online for several weeks with a guy her age, and she'd never met a funnier person. He was sweet, compassionate, and so funny that she'd been brought to tears from laughing. He seemed like an amazing guy, but Marina had doubts. Her invitation to meet him had been rejected twice now, and she was getting antsy.

The two met in a school-related forum on a website frequented by Elwood City's teens. They hit it off immediately, both of them talking about their favorite television shows, discussing recent news events, and laughing at funny jokes and pictures. Marina had never gotten this close to someone so quickly, and after talking the matter over with Prunella, she decided she should meet the guy.

That was when the problem arose. Her first invitation was shot down immediately. He just said he wasn't up for it though, so Marina waited a week to try again. That rejection was more detailed—his family and friends felt that meeting someone in person that you'd met online was a dangerous game that a sixteen-year-old shouldn't be playing. Marina understood that, but she wanted to meet him. She'd have to prove she was a real person, she thought, and after some thought, she decided that she at least wanted to video chat with him. But she wouldn't be able to see him, so she felt the idea was stupid.

But Marina was persistent. She liked this guy, and despite the danger of meeting some gross middle-aged-man, she wanted to meet him in person. So, after responding in the necessary way to his funny message, she sent him a second request:

"Can we maybe meet up at the Sugar Bowl this weekend? Bring your friends too. We'll make it a group meeting."

The guy was slow to respond. Marina wondered if he'd reject her again. Even though each location was public that she'd offered before, this was the first time she'd allowed other people to come. Depending on who he was, he might not like that idea either. Her thoughts raced, each of them trying to tell her the different ways he could reject her. Could he completely abandon her this time, deciding to never respond again? The possibilities were endless and the waiting was torture.

After an excruciating fifteen minutes, the response came. He was willing to come and would bring two friends. Marina was excited, marking the date down on her phone's calendar. Then she called Prunella to celebrate, as well as to invite her to the meet-up.

"Wow, Marina, I'm happy you finally got him to meet up with you, but I can't be there that day. Rubella has some sort of thing she wants the whole family to go to, so we're driving up to Metropolis State for the entire day. I'm really sorry," Prunella said with a very sincere tone.

Marina sighed, "Well, I guess I could just go alone. Do you think that would be okay or should I find someone else?"

"Hmm, that's a good question," Prunella said, trying to think of a possible solution. Only one thought came to mind, "Maybe you should invite Arthur and his friends to come along with you. Francine might not be available because of that big tournament that's coming up, but Muffy might be willing to go with you. I'm sure Arthur and Buster will come. Buster would never turn down an ice cream adventure," she laughed.

Marina nodded in agreement, "You're so right. I'll ask them tomorrow at lunch," she said, ending their phone call. She was confident this plan would work, but when Marina asked the group, they exchanged glances before gently letting her down. Marina was confused, "What has all of you so busy? Is there something going on that day that I don't know about?" she asked.

"Actually-" Arthur began, but Buster immediately silenced him. Whatever their prior obligation was, they weren't divulging information. Marina had no choice but to drop the conversation. And even though she didn't want to do things this way, she decided she'd have to attend the meet-up by herself.

Marina entered the Sugar Bowl to find it empty. The only person there was Carl, who was leaning on the counter, eager for the after school customers to flood the building. Marina told him her situation before taking a seat in a back booth. She didn't want anything to eat or drink at the moment. Her stomach was doing flips as her heart pounded wildly in her chest. Today was the day she was going to meet her internet friend, a guy she actually had a light crush on.

Before she could let thoughts of him take over, a group of people approached outside. The door opened and Buster entered the building with Arthur, Francine, Muffy, and George right beside him. Buster remained in the doorway while the others took their seats. Marina heard several footsteps approach a nearby booth, but she could sense someone standing in the doorway. After several minutes, that person approached her table.

"Um...I thought you had something to do this afternoon," Buster stammered. Marina nodded with confidence. She heard Buster exhale heavily, "Wow, um...are you Katniss1991?" he asked.

Marina blushed vividly. If he knew her user name, then that must mean-

"Are you BionicBoy1992?" Marina asked.

Buster gulped as he sat down, "Wow, I had no idea it was you. I just...I had no idea," he said, sliding something across the table. Marina felt it and tears almost welled up in her eyes. It was a flower. Buster cleared his throat, "It's...um...a daisy. I wanted to get more but someone took all of the good ones from the community garden. I hope you like it."

"I love it," Marina smiled, pulling it towards her. "So, I didn't really expect this either. I didn't know what to expect exactly, but I didn't think I'd actually know you from real life. I guess you didn't either. That's why you didn't want to meet up at first."

"Sort of," Buster said, running his hand over his hair. "I, um..., I've actually had this minor-slash-major crush on you for a while online, pretty much since we first met. I didn't want to mess up our friendship by admitting it, but having my friends over there made me want to tell you everything. I'm sorry if I've messed things up-"

Marina stopped him by finding his hand across the table. She played with his fingers, running hers over his hand to take in how it felt. She couldn't help but laugh a little, "I've had a pretty major crush on you too. I just wanted to meet you to see if things could work out between us. I know we met online, but hey, I think it's a great story to tell people."

"Nah, we need to tell people we met when I saved you from being attacked or something," Buster grinned. Marina laughed heartily, "It's a deal. We met in the alley behind the Sugar Bowl and you saved my life."

"So, um..., does this count as a date even if everyone's behind us watching?" Buster asked.

Marina thought for a moment, "Well, why don't we just get out of here and make it a real date? Want to go to where I originally wanted to meet?"

Buster accepted, and after getting some sodas for the walk over, they left the Sugar Bowl to go on their first official date.

The marble fountain made a glorious sound as the two approached. They'd held hands most of the way to the park, only releasing to take sips of their soda. Now that they were at their destination, they sat down on a stone bench to take in everything.

"This spot is really beautiful," Buster said, looking over the fountain. "What makes it so special to you?"

"The sound of the water, the way the stone feels on my fingers," Marina sighed happily, "All of that makes it a beautiful spot, and in spring, the flowers smell so wonderful. It's just the atmosphere of this entire area. I've always wondered what kind of fountain it was. Is it a monument to someone special? The plaque that explains it doesn't have a braille translation."

"It's actually just geometric shapes," Buster admitted. "The top of the fountain is a rectangular prism with a fountain head on top. The water flows down into a giant square within an even bigger circle. It's really simple."

"I still like it, I guess, even if it isn't anyone important. This will always be a special spot for me," Marina smiled. "I read books here with Prunella in elementary school, and I went on my first date here," she added.

Buster grinned, "It is pretty special," he said, moving closer to her.

They sat in silence, both of them listening to the fountain as they held hands. They were still getting used to being so close to each other, to the idea that their online loves were really friends from their everyday life. Everything was so new yet so comfortable.

The next move was almost inevitable. Marina felt Buster shift, turning to face her more. A light breeze had knocked some of her hair into her face, which he gently brushed away. He then caressed her cheek, and after a moment, she felt his lips meet hers.

The kiss was magical. The fountain got louder, almost like the Niagara Falls, as the world began to spin for both of them. It was their first kiss, and though Buster lingered too long and they didn't do much, it was a supernatural moment that neither of them would ever forget.

But they were sixteen, and unfortunately for them, their moment was interrupted by texts from their parents calling them home for dinner. Buster walked Marina home, and both promised to make this new relationship work both online and offline. And because they were both willing to make it work, their crush became a full-fledged relationship that was envied by all.

~End

Theme 201: First Date

The theme is from my Infinite Arthur Theme List Challenge. For more info, see my profile. For the full list, see my deviantArt account, SS-Chrys.

This piece will be added to a collaboration project called "Crushed Hearts." The series is basically about the various characters from Arthur falling for each other. Some pieces, like this one, work out for the best and turn into good relationships. Other pieces don't quite work out for the lovers, but it's true-to-life so I find those enjoyable as well. If you'd like to write a piece for the series, let me know. I'll add your posted piece to the Arthur Collab Projects community as soon as I can.

Exit question: What does everyone think of Buster x Marina? Review with your thoughts:)

[Written 6/16/2015]


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